How to select multiple non adjacent cells in iCloud Numbers???

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Level 1

14 points

How to select multiple non adjacent cells in iCloud Numbers???

Hi there. I have moved from Google Docs to Apple iWork for iCloud. And now I can't find how to select multiple non adjacent cells in a table. Any product that I had used before supports holding CMD for that (incl. Microsoft Excel and Google Docs). But holding CMD in Numbers for iCloud to select multiple non adjacent cells does not bring any results. I can't believe that Apple has forgotten this key combination. I have tried different browsers, incl. Safari.

MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2012), OS X El Capitan (10.11.6), null

Posted on Nov 24, 2017 11:15 PM

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Answer 1

SGIII

Level 8

37,562 points

Dec 4, 2017 1:41 PM in response to Cab456

Cab456 wrote:

Guys, I noticed that at some point our discussion has moved in the wrong direction. I need to calculate sum of non adjacent cells in ONE spreadsheet.

If it moved in the "wrong direction" it's because of this:

Cab456 wrote:

I need to quickly calculate sum of random cells in different spreadsheets without entering formulas and filling additional cells.

BTW, a spreadsheet means a document in Numbers. Documents don't contain cells; tables do.

It's easy to do what you want with Numbers for the Mac. Here I've selected non-contiguous cells.

I think you are likely bumping up against a limitation of running a spreadsheet in a browser. Are you sure you can do this in the online versions of other spreadsheet apps?

SG

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Answer 2

SGIII

Level 8

37,562 points

Dec 2, 2017 2:52 PM in response to Cab456

Usually I use the =SUM() function, containing a range of contiguous cells.

If for some reason you have the cells you want to sum scattered around your table the I just add them one by one to the formula:

=B2+D2+F2.

SG

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Answer 3

Cab456 Author

Level 1

14 points

Dec 2, 2017 9:53 PM in response to SGIII

Thank you for your time. But this is not the solution. I need to quickly calculate sum of random cells in different spreadsheets without entering formulas and filling additional cells. That function exists in every other spreadsheet solution for years.

Does anybody know the answer? Thanks in advance.

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Answer 4

SGIII

Level 8

37,562 points

Dec 3, 2017 10:19 AM in response to Cab456

I use Excel a lot, and I am pretty sure it is not possible to select random cells in different spreadsheets and quickly get a sum of all those random cells without entering a formula. Perhaps you are thinking of some other spreadsheet app?

In any case, if your Numbers documents are designed to be efficient, with like data kept together rather than scattered, then there seems to be little need for this kind of functionality.

SG

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Answer 5

SGIII

Level 8

37,562 points

Dec 4, 2017 11:15 AM in response to raleighr3

In Numbers for Mac that's easy. You're not picking non-contiguous cells. You're picking multiple ranges of contiguous cells, different from the question posed here (I believe). In Numbers for iCloud (or the Excel online version) don't know how well that works.

SG

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Answer 6

Dec 4, 2017 11:42 AM in response to SGIII

On Numbers for iCloud it doesn't work at all, or at least I haven't figured out how to select cells from different tables. I classify this as related to the original question as it is related to selection of cells that are non-contiguous, albeit in this case the cells are not in the same table, but rather multiple tables.

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Answer 7

Cab456 Author

Level 1

14 points

Dec 4, 2017 12:34 PM in response to Cab456

Guys, I noticed that at some point our discussion has moved in the wrong direction. I need to calculate sum of non adjacent cells in ONE spreadsheet. The problem is the inability to do that by a simple multiselecting of these cells. What is supported in every other spreadsheet solution. So I have to conclude that Apple has forgotten this key combination in iCloud Numbers. Generally it is a very important feature which greatly simplifies the work with the data in the spreadsheets. And its absence means only one thing: that in the pursuit of minimalism, the company abandoned the functionality and usability of its product. Or (what I strongly hope) I have some kind of local problem, and that actually works.

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Answer 8

SGIII

Level 8

37,562 points

Dec 2, 2017 11:48 AM in response to Cab456

Given the Numbers design, centered around multiple tables that contain similar data, perhaps a relevant question is why you would want to select non-adjacent cells. Could you explain?

SG

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Answer 9

Cab456 Author

Level 1

14 points

Dec 2, 2017 12:07 PM in response to SGIII

Hello! It's easy to explain. Quite often I need to calculate the sum of values in multiple cells.

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Answer 10

Dec 4, 2017 10:44 AM in response to SGIII

Well another need for this functionality is being able to add charts where the data to be charted is in more than one table, see the simple budget template for a prime example.

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Answer 11

Dec 4, 2017 2:32 PM in response to SGIII

It is in Google Sheets

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Answer 12

Cab456 Author

Level 1

14 points

Dec 4, 2017 7:15 PM in response to SGIII

Yes, I can easily do it in Google Sheets by holding CMD:

But it don't works in iCloud Numbers.

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Answer 13

SGIII

Level 8

37,562 points

Dec 4, 2017 7:58 PM in response to Cab456

If you frequently work on spreadsheets in a browser (no access to a Mac?) and this feature is important to you then doesn’t it make sense to use a spreadsheet designed primarly for the browser?

SG

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